The Big Seven-OH!

Liguori Publications, a ministry of the Redemptorists, is named after our founder and prolific spiritual author, St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696–1732). In 1913, the Redemptorists ventured into publishing at our seminary in Oconomowoc, WI. The enterprise began with a magazine, Liguorian, and it expanded to include monthly bulletins, leaflets, pamphlets, and books.

Out of concerns that the increased workload of the venture interfered with seminary studies, the Redemptorists sought a location separate from the seminary. A 120-acre estate with rolling hills and two antique homes was found twenty-five miles south of St. Louis. The property was then known as The Cedars. On October 23, 1947, Fr. Don Miller took possession of the property, now named Liguori. Eight Redemptorists were assigned to Liguori initially. Soon, three more joined the group.

Miller, the first superior of Liguori, described the early months: “Each one had to pitch in and help with the editorial work, the office work, the circulation work, even the primitive housekeeping and cooking,” Miller noted. “Very soon the fruit of this concentrated effort began to appear. The work of each department, after a few months of backing and filling, began to spurt ahead.”

At the time of the transfer to Liguori, Liguorian’scirculation was 20,000. Sixteen years later, in 1963, it had increased to 350,000. Pamphlets and bulletins, including a Sunday bulletin introduced in 1955, also prospered. Within a short time, the Sunday bulletin reached more than 3,000 parishes with almost two million copies.

Over the decades, Liguori Publications has won many awards and earned a reputation for producing exceptional pastoral resources that meet the needs of today’s Catholics. Thanks to God’s blessing and the support of our readers, the Redemptorists and a dedicated staff of laypeople continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ through what St. Alphonsus called “the apostolate of the pen.”